'I hate it': Columbus Crew share thoughts on possibly facing New York Red Bulls four times
The Crew's game against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, which is the last day of the regular season, could be the first of four consecutive matchups between the two teams.
It is already guaranteed that Columbus is going into the MLS playoffs as the second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference and will play the sixth-ranked team. The Red Bulls have one last chance to jump over Charlotte FC from sixth to fifth in the final conference standings.
More: Columbus Crew in MLS Cup playoffs - Here's what we know about first round matchup, tickets
If the Red Bulls fail to defeat the Crew, or Charlotte FC finishes with a victory or draw against D.C. United, New York will face Columbus in the first round of the playoffs, a best-of-three series.
"I hate it, simple as that," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "I’m going to have to respect the rules, but it’s boring, just to be honest with you. Last year, we played Atlanta (United), it was almost a similar stuff. I don’t like it, to be honest with you. After that, this is the rule, this is also the standing, I would say. But I have to adapt.”
Last year, the Crew played Atlanta in their second-to-last regular-season game before the teams played in the first round of the playoffs.
In the regular-season matchup, the Crew and Atlanta finished in a 1-1 draw. The Crew, who had home field advantage in the playoffs series, defeated Atlanta in both games at Lower.com Field in the playoffs to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
After playing Atlanta nearly four times in a row, and then once more to open the 2024 season three months following the first round games, Nancy was vocal about his frustration about having how frequent Columbus was facing the same team.
Now it could be happening again
"It’s difficult, obviously, to play a team three, four times in a row," Crew midfielder Max Arfsten said. "Every game is different, and the more you play a team, the more they get used to your style and they’re going to try to slow us down and vice versa. So it’s going to be difficult but it’s just the way it is with how the league wants the playoffs to go, so we’re going to have to figure out a way.”
When was the last time Columbus Crew faced New York Red Bulls?
It has been just over seven months since the last time the Crew faced the Red Bulls.
On March 16, the Crew shutout the Red Bulls, 3-0 at Lower.com Field behind the efforts of forwards Cucho Hernandez, Jacen Russell-Rowe and midfielder Aidan Morris. The latter is no longer with the club, after departing to play for England's Middlesbrough FC at the end of June.
In the Red Bulls' latest game, a 2-1 loss against Atlanta, there were just seven starters who also started in the Crew match, including goalkeeper Carlos Coronel. The Red Bulls had a different formation, a 5-3-2 rather than the 4-4-4 they used against Columbus.
Despite the differences, Columbus is expecting New York to come out with its normal "direct and hard" playing style.
"We know how Red Bulls play," Crew defender Malte Amundsen. "We’re going to focus on ourselves and then do the things we’re good at against that formation or that team. So, we’re going to focus on ourselves and see how we can find loopholes in their defense.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew share thoughts about upcoming game vs New York Red Bulls
